Clint Eastwood’s back with his annual Oscar bait prestige film, this time featuring Leonardo DiCaprio as controversial lawman J. Edgar Hoover. And now the first trailer has arrived over at Apple.
With a script by Milk's Dustin Lance Black, **J. Edgar **explores Hoover’s conflicted public and private life, from his strict upbringing with a nurturing yet pushy mother (Judi Dench) to his appointment as America’s top law keeper, including his role in founding and running the FBI. Hoover quickly became the face of US law enforcement, winning both friends and enemies while pushing crime-fighting techniques forward and recruiting people to his side. Those included trusted right hand man Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer) and loyal secretary Helen Grandy (Naomi Watts).
But Hoover was also a mass of contradictions, the keeper of many secrets who let the idea of absolute power go to his head and corrupt him. He became paranoid and controlling, abusing what he knew about some of the country’s most powerful people – even up to and including the Kennedy clan – to push his agenda and beliefs.
Eastwood has gathered his usual killer cast including a bevy of character stalwarts including Stephen Root, Jeffrey Donovan, Dermot Mulroney and Zach Grenier. Can it match up to his usual standards? Will DiCaprio pull off a demanding role that sees him age through decades? We’ll see when** J. Edgar** arrives on January 20 next year.